About

About the Conference

Theme

The 2027 theme is: 'Building trust and resilience in a changing world'

Public health in Australia and globally remains at the crossroads. Moving forward it is essential that together we work towards building trust and resilience for the benefit of Australia and globally.

This will be the second of our conferences to take place following the establishment of the Australian Centre for Disease Control. Global leadership in communicable disease control and immunisation and trust in governments, science and scientists continues to be in retreat. We have increasingly more sophisticated surveillance, prevention and response options. Our challenge is how to implement these to meet the ongoing challenges of falling immunisation coverage, growing climate crises and declines in societal trust in institutions following the pandemic. The reality is that today artificial intelligence is influencing every aspect of the way we do our day-to-day work. We need to steward how AI is used and shape it’s application in order to optimise its benefits, whilst managing the

existing and emerging risks.

In this challenging time, we are asking you to bring to this conference your ideas to drive improvement in communicable disease control and prevention. The conference will provide the opportunity to learn about the changes happening nationally and internationally, and to share your local solutions and successes. Together we can share knowledge, collaborate and build relationships to better manage our most pressing communicable disease and immunisation challenges.

Join us in Cairns to be part of the conversation as we work together to improve disease control in Australia.

Sub-Themes/Topics

The conference will aim to facilitate conversations on improving effectiveness and efficiencies of communicable disease control and immunisation programs through knowledge sharing and relationship building.

The program must consider the needs and interests of the communicable disease audience to ensure attraction and participation to the conference.


We welcome submission of abstracts for presentations relevant to one or more of the Conference sub-themes, but we are happy to accept a relevant abstract outside of these themes: ​

Topic 1: Trust and Community Resilience for Public Health

·      First Nations leadership and health equity

·      Community partnerships, communication and engagement

·      Social and behavioural science

 

Topic 2: Surveillance and Prevention

·      Immunisation and vaccine delivery

·      Vaccine preventable, tropical and neglected tropical diseases

·      Antimicrobial resistance and stewardship

 

Topic 3: Resilience and Response to Current and Emerging Threats

·      Outbreak investigations and responses

·      Collaborative surveillance, systems and early detection

·      One Health and regional health security 

·      Health impacts of climate change

 

Topic 4: Technology and innovation in communicable disease and immunisation

·      Artificial intelligence, digital health and novel technologies

·      Genomics and diagnostics Innovation in communicable disease control and immunisation


Program Content and Structure

The program will run over three days, comprising of four to five plenary sessions and five to six concurrent sessions.

Plenary sessions feature expert international and national speakers, while concurrent sessions include various presentation types, e.g. 10-minute-long oral presentations, 6-minute rapid fire presentations, etc.

Target Audience

The conference will aim to facilitate conversations on improving effectiveness and efficiencies of communicable

disease control and immunisation programs through knowledge sharing and relationship building. The program must consider the needs and interests of the communicable disease audience to ensure attraction and participation to the conference.

In communicable diseases and immunisation, professionals working or training in:

  • Public health and public health laboratories
  • Clinical, community and immunisation settings
  • Research and academia
  • Policy and programs and government
  • Community, advocacy and non-government sector


Conference Objectives

The objectives of the conference are to:

  • Create a dynamic environment to foster knowledge sharing, collaboration and relationship building among health professionals working on communicable disease control, vaccination, and related areas
  • Highlight the activities of relevant research programs on infectious and vaccine preventable diseases to encourage engagement in high-quality research initiatives to improve health outcomes for Australians
  • Provide collective guidance and insight into capacity building and strengthening communicable disease control and immunisation programs
  • Help create and improve public health systems that are equitable and effective for Australian and regional communities
  • Provide conference delegates with new and innovative ideas that can be applied to local settings and systems to help create and improve public health systems for local communities



About the Committee

Meet the CDIC 2027 Conference Advisory Committee

Co-Chair

Prof. Nicholas Wood

Associate Director, Clinical Research and Services, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)

General Paediatrician, Staff specialist, Sydney Children's Hospital Network

Professor, The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School, The University of Sydney

Co-Chair

Dr Stephanie Williams PSM

Bio TBC


Committee Member

Dr Anthea Katelaris

Public Health Physician, South Eastern Sydney Public Health Unit.

Committee Member

Prof. Christopher Blyth

Professor and Centre Head: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, The Kids Research Institute Australia, and University of Western Australia

Chris Blyth is an infectious disease physician and clinical microbiologist working at Perth Children’s Hospital and for PathWest Laboratory Medicine.


He has research interests in influenza, RSV, pneumococcus, other vaccine preventable infections and immunisation policy.


He has served on peak advisory committees including the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) and Communicable Disease Network of Australia (CDNA).

Committee Member

A/Prof. Hazel Clothier

Epidemiology Lead, Epidemiology Informatics Group, Center for Health Analytics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

Hazel Clothier is an infectious disease epidemiologist with a background in public health, outbreak management, and surveillance systems. Her work focuses on using real-world data to support evidence-based decisions that strengthen population health and immunisation programs.


Committee Member

​Dr. Jessica Kaufman

Principal Research Fellow, Vaccine Uptake Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)

Dr Jessica Kaufman is a Principal Research Fellow in the Vaccine Uptake Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne. She leads the Vaccine Social Science Team, which conducts research about the social and behavioural factors that affect vaccine decision-making and uptake across the lifespan. She works in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. 

Committee Member

​Ms. Karen Bellamy

Kaz Bellamy is an Infectious Diseases and Immunisation Nurse Practitioner with expertise in high risk immunisation and vaccine safety, and a current member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Committee Member

Prof. Katie Flanagan

Director of Infectious Diseases, Launceston General Hospital.

Committee Member

Ms. Katrina Clark

​Katrina Clark is an Aboriginal health researcher and the Aboriginal Immunisation Manager for Hunter New England (HNELHD), based in Newcastle. She is deeply committed to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Katrina holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney, a Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion, a Diploma in Population Health, and a Certificate IV in Indigenous Research Capacity Building. Her work brings together academic knowledge, cultural understanding, and practical experience to strengthen immunisation programs and support healthier futures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Committee Member

Ms. Naomi Nelson

Aboriginal Health Team Coordinator, Boorloo (Perth) Public Health Unit, North Metropolitan Health Service.

Naomi Nelson is a proud Njaki-Njaki woman from the Noongar nation who has connections to Ballardong and Wadjak countries. She has been in health for 8 years currently working at Boorloo Public Health Unit for the last 5 years as the Aboriginal Health Team Co Ordinator with the team managing portfolios in immunisation and notifiable communicable diseases. 

Committee Member

Dr Olivia Williams

Bio TBC

Committee Member

A/Prof. Stéphane Bouchoucha

Bio TBC

Committee Member

Mr. Thomas Clayton

Bio TBC

Committee Member

Dr Tonia Marquardt

Bio TBC

Committee Member

Adj. Prof. Terry Slevin

Terry Slevin has been Chief Executive Officer for the Public Health Association of Australia since May 2018. 

He is Adjunct Professor in the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University, and Adjunct Professor in the College of Health and Medicine at the Australian National University. 

He is a Fellow of PHAA and was the first Vice President (Development) of the Association.

Event Lead / Events Officer

Ms. Cal Spencer-Rosenberg

Ms Cal Spencer-Rosenberg joined the PHAA team in March 2022.

She has over 25 years of experience in events, gained in corporate, private, and non-profit organisations across London, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

In January 2022 she completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences, majoring in public health, and brings both her academic and professional career experience to this role.

Senior Events Officer

Ms. Tamara Mok

Ms. Tamara Mok joined the PHAA team in November 2025.

Tamara Lee Mok is an experienced event professional with over 8 years in the events industry. She has delivered outdoor events, galas, award ceremonies, conferences, and celebrations, blending creative vision and styling with operational precision to create inclusive, memorable experiences.

Events Officer

Ms. Anke Brandt

Ms. Anke Brandt joined the PHAA team in early 2025.

Anke has over 20 years of experience in customer service and event management roles. She's passionate about delivering impactful events and endeavours to provide the best possible member experience to all.

Your Hosts

Communicable Diseases

Network Australia (CDNA)

The Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) was established in 1989 as the Communicable Diseases Control Network, as a joint initiative of the National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council.

The Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) was established in 1989 as the Communicable Diseases Control Network, as a joint initiative of the National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council.

​

The Communicable Diseases Network Australia will provide national public health co-ordination and leadership, and support best practice for the prevention and control of communicable diseases.

​

For more information,

visit CDNA's website:

CDNA

Public Health Laboratory Network

(PHLN)

The Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN) is a collaborative group of laboratories, which have expertise and provide services in public health microbiology in Australia and New Zealand.

The central purpose and role of PHLN is defined as the provision of leadership and consultation in all aspects of public health microbiology and communicable disease control. This is achieved through the continued development of a proactive network of public health laboratories to protect and improve the health of people of Australia.

For more information,

visit PHLN's website:

PHLN

Public Health Association of Australia

(PHAA)

The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is recognised as the principal non-government organisation for public health in Australia and works to promote the health and well-being of all Australians. The Association seeks better population health outcomes based on prevention, the social determinants of health and equity principles.

PHAA is a national organisation comprising around 2,000 individual members and representing over 40 professional groups concerned with the promotion of health at a population level. The Public Health Association of Australia provides forums for the discussion of public health in Australia and a voice of a wide variety of professional public health workers.

The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (ANZJPH), PHAA provides Australia’s basic public health infrastructure that links those undertaking research in public health and those undertaking policy, program development and implementation.

Via our conferences, workshops, forums and other member events, we bring together those seeking to debate scientific evidence, policy and program evaluation and options for the further and better development of public health in Australia.

The Policy Statements that are developed within PHAA are provided to the public to help educate Australians about the scientific evidence and policy options around public health. They are also the primary resource for our advocacy efforts that underlie bringing policy alternatives to the attention of governments and bureaucrats.

For more information or to become a member, visit PHAA's website:

PHAA



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